Wheel and a Wheel Rim

ABSTRACT

A wheel, especially for use on vehicles, is provided comprising a substantially circular rim for fixation of an inflatable tire, and at least one support ring, the support ring being substantially concentric with and being an integral part of the rim. The present invention has the advantage of enabling one to drive a vehicle equipped with the wheels disclosed herein with control, and without any risk of unexpected loss of control and without the wheel or the tire being damaged. Also, one can avoid the discomfort and danger of having to change the tire in places with circulation of vehicles.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase application of PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/BR02/00034, filed Mar. 7, 2002, which was published in Englishon May 8, 2003, and which claims priority to Brazilian Application No.PI0104931-3, filed Oct. 31, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wheel, especially for use onautomotive vehicles, and to a wheel rim for a wheel.

2. Description of Related Art

Punctures in tires of automotive vehicles such as cars or commercialvehicles (utility vehicles, buses, trucks and their trailers, etc.) havebeen trouble ever since inflatable tires were invented. Tire puncturesexpose the driver to (i) accident risks if the tire empties suddenlywhile the vehicle is moving at high speed, a situation in which drivingcontrol over the vehicle may be lost, and (ii) a discomfort situationdue to the need for changing the punctured tire, with the need to use ajack for lifting the vehicle, the wrench for loosening the screws,placing the spare tire, etc. In addition, changing of a tire on ahighway shoulder or on the streets is very dangerous, because the chanceof the vehicle and its driver being run into by another vehicle at highspeed is considerable.

Since preventing tire puncture is something almost impossible, due tothe existence of piercing objects and surfaces on highways, one hastried to develop systems that could enable one to drive in safety with apressure less tire, without bead detachment, a situation in which thetire disengages from the wheel rim, or permanent damage occurs to eitheror both of them.

In view of this, one has developed proposals of wheel with tires thatcould run without pressure, comprising a wheel rim provided with a beltof deformable material, positioned concentrically thereto in itsexternal region, and configured in such a way that it would have anouter diameter larger than the maximum outer diameter of the rim. Inthis way, when the tire is emptied of air, in spite of the tendency ofthe tire to deform under the weight of the vehicle, its inner surfacetouched the outer surface of the belt. The system was dimensioned sothat the height of the belt would cause the deformation undergone by thetire to be minor, thus enabling one to drive the vehicle in safety(provided that a speed higher than 80 km/h would not be reached). Thissystem presented efficient results, enabling one to drive a vehicle witha pressure less tire. However, it was necessary to place and fix thebelt of deformable material, which would case a high wheel-manufacturecost. Two inventions based on this system are described in patents U.S.Pat. No. 4,922,981, corresponding to Brazilian patent PI 8805513, andU.S. Pat. No. 5,749,982, corresponding to Brazilian patent PI 9408279-0.

Further, one developed a system comprising a wheel especially designedfor adaptation of an equally special tire, so that the tire remainsrigidly fixed to the wheel, thus avoiding bead detachment. The wheelalso has a belt of elastomeric material (preferably alveolate) to ensuregreater flexibility, to offer “flexible temporary support”. The vehicleequipped with this system includes sensors for monitoring the tirepressure, so as to inform the driver of drop in pressure in the tire ofa wheel of the vehicle by way of a sound/light signal.

The need for special wheel and tires, the belt of a polymeric materialand the system of monitoring tire pressure have made this systemunfeasible for implementation in a large number of vehicles due to itshigh cost. In addition, this specific wheel, independently of beingmanufactured from stamped steel or a light-metal alloy, has a weight atleast 25% higher than the conventional wheel, so that the suspension ofthe vehicle has to be reinforced in order to function well with thisconsiderable increase in the weight of the wheel/tire assembly, which isa mass that is not suspended by the suspension assembly.

Another drawback that extremely limits the use thereof is the need forspecial machines and tools for mounting and dismounting these tires,which limits, at least in the short and middle term, the number ofestablishments capable of making the repair of the punctured tire.

Catalogs of tire manufacturers illustrate systems in which the wheelcomprises a rim and a disc fixed at the middle portion of this rim,which enables one to use a special tire, the bead of which (the partthat is fixed to the wheel rim) is associated with the rim on the innersurface thereof, thus avoiding bead detachment. In this case, thesurface of the rim itself ends up functioning as a tire-support belt,but this only occurs after the whole geometry of the assembly has beenaltered, the rim being “further inwards” with respect to the tire.

However, this configuration also needs specifically developed tires andwheels, as well as specific tools for dismounting it, which limits thepossibility of implementing it on a large scale. Finally, the aestheticresult of the thus configured wheel is not attractive, causing morerestrictions to its use.

Document EP 0 140 074 reveals a vehicle wheel on which can be mounted apneumatic tire having a support member disposed axially inwardly of theseating surfaces of the rim. Due to the existence of the support member,it is possible to guarantee control of a vehicle when it is running witha flat tire (also called pressure less condition). Axially inwardly fromthe tire seating surfaces, the rim is provided with a support memberhaving a diameter which is greater than the diameter of rim's flanges.In a first embodiment, the support member is substantially annular andhas a “U” shaped cross section, being welded to the rim. The secondembodiment, on the other hand, is different since the support member is“T” shaped and is an integral part of the rim. However, it is difficultto manufacture a rim thus configured unless you machine the supportmember, increasing its manufacturing costs.

Document EP 0 679 541 refers to a light-weight, low-cost andeasy-to-manufacture rim for use with a tire assembly, capable ofrealizing safe and stable high speed travel with a flat tire and anextended continuous travel distance. The rim thus revealed comprises apair of bead seats along which beads of a tire are engageablypositioned, a pair of flanges being formed along each outer side of thepair of bead seats and a support section, both sides thereof beingintegrally connected respectively to both inner sides of the pair ofbead seats, and being provided so as to project radially outsiderelative to the bead seats. The support section supports a crown portionof a tire from the inside thereof when the internal pressure of the tiredrops.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide a wheel for use with atire which enables one to drive a vehicle having one or more pressureless tires, without bead detachment occurring (a situation in which thetire disengages from the wheel rim) and without permanent damages toeither or both of them. The wheel should not have a belt of anelastomeric material since the latter presents an additional manufacturecost.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a wheel rim foruse on said wheel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is achieved by a wheel, particularly for use onvehicles, provided with a substantially circular rim for fixation of aninflatable tire, the rim also comprising at least one support ring thatis concentric with, and being an integral part of, the rim. The supportring comprises a bore for installation of a tire-inflating controlvalve.

Also, the present invention is achieved by a substantially circularwheel rim for fixation of an inflatable tire, comprising at least onesupport ring substantially concentric with, and being an integral partof, the rim. The support ring comprises a bore for installation of atire-inflating control valve.

The present invention has an advantage of enabling a vehicle equippedwith the wheels disclosed here to be driven with total safety, when atire empties, without any risk of unexpected loss of control and withoutthe wheel and the tire being damaged. In addition, it becomes possibleto go on driving with the pressure less tire and only to change it at asafe place, or else to go directly to a tire-fixing workshop, thusavoiding the discomfort and danger of changing a tire at places withcirculation of vehicles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The present invention will now be described in greater detail withreference to an embodiment represented in the drawings, wherein thefigures show:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of an end region of a first embodiment ofthe wheel of the present invention, without the tire;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of an end region of the first embodimentof the wheel of the present invention, with the tire on;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the wheel rim of the wheel of thepresent invention, without the tire;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the rim illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of an end view of a second embodiment ofthe wheel of the present invention, with the tire on;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of an end region of a third embodiment ofthe wheel of the present invention, with the tire on;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section view of an end region of a fourth embodimentof the wheel of the present invention, with the tire on; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of an end region of a fifth embodiment ofthe wheel of the present invention, with the tire on.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to a preferred embodiment and as can be seen in FIG. 1, thewheel 1 of the present invention comprises a cylinder-shaped rim 2 and asubstantially circular disc 3 associated to each other, both of thempreferably made of steel by a lamination process. The disc 3 has itsfree end portion 31 associated to an intermediate internal portion ofthe rim 2, that is to say, the surface facing the inside of the wheel 1,not to the tire 4. Optionally, there may be a wheel configuration 1 inwhich the end portion of the rim 2 is associated to the disc 3.Alternatively, one may also conceive a wheel in which the rim 2 and thedisc 3 are a single piece, as for example a wheel manufactured by fusinga metal alloy in a mold.

The wheel disc 3 has axial fixation bores 32 for fixing the wheel 1 to ahub of a vehicle axle (not shown), as well as a central axial bore 33for accommodating the end of vehicle axle (not shown), when the wheel 1is installed on the vehicle. As a general rule, the fixation bores 32are radially arranged around the geometric longitudinal axis of thewheel 1.

Optionally, the disc 3 presents further a passer-by bore (not shown) forventilation of the brake system of the vehicle and for greaterelaboration of the wheel 1 draw.

The inflatable tire 4, hereinafter called merely tire 4, is mounted onthe wheel rim 2, which comprises an inner surface facing the center ofthe circumference defined by it and an outer surface, so that theexternal region of the tire bore, or bead 41, is associated to the innersurface of the rim 2, in an end portion 20 that has a curvature designedto prevent side movement of the tire 4. Optionally, one may provide awheel 1 in which this end having a curvature is an integral part of thewheel disc 3, not of the rim 2, with identical objectives and resultsachieved.

Whatever the embodiment of the present invention, the wheel 1 has asupport ring 5 that is an integral part of the rim 2, designed forenabling one to drive the vehicle in safety, even in the event of asudden loss of pressure of the tire 4, without the latter or even thewheel 1 being damaged, as explained later.

As already known, the rim 2 is manufactured from a piece of laminated,welded and balanced steel, having a cylindrical shape. In this way, therim 2 may have a cross-section of any desired shape.

As already mentioned, the rim 2 of the wheel of the present inventionhas a support ring 5 as an integral part, this ring having thecharacteristic of being protuberant, so that the maximum diameter D ofthe thus configured wheel 1, as well as the outer diameter of the rim 2,is equivalent to the outer diameter of the ring 5 (that is to say, theaverage diameter of the outer surface of the ring 5, the one facing thetire 4). In this way, said diameter D defined by the outer surface ofthe support ring 5 is greater than the diameter defined by the endportion 20 of the rim 2. Preferably, the cross-section of the rim 2 and,therefore, of the wheel 1, has inverted-M-shaped. However, thiscross-section may have any other shapes, as for example a “Ω” or omegashape, which even so will be included in the scope of the invention.Some formats of cross-section may be seen in the illustrations of FIGS.5-8. The only characteristic which the rim 2 and the wheel 1 should haveis a support ring 5 as integral part of the rim 2. Evidently, the wheel1 may be built by other methods, as already mentioned, and it may haveall of these characteristics. The rim 2 may have more than one supportring 5.

Optionally, the support ring 5 may comprise a bore 6 for installation ofthe tire-inflating control valve (not shown).

Thus, the present invention dispenses with the use of a belt of adeformable material positioned concentrically with the rim (which existson the wheels of the prior art, described before), thus economizing inthe manufacture cost, by saving deformable material (usually anelastomer or polymer), economizing in the step of the productive processof placing the ring of deformable material on the rim, which requiresthe employ of fixation means for fixing this ring on the rim, as forexample adhesives.

When the tire 4 is mounted on the wheel 1 and is inflated, the airpressure itself in its interior 40 maintains it shape. In thissituation, there is no contact between the inner surface of the tire 4and the outer surface of the ring 5. When there is loss of pressureinside 40 the tire 4, the absence of air causes the weight of thevehicle to deform the tire 4, with the consequent folding of its sidewalls, also known as shoulders 42. In the case of a conventional wheel,without the existence of a support ring 5, the deformation is so greatthat tire collapses, because of cuts in its shoulders 42 that make ituseless, if the driver insists on moving the vehicle. This collapse ofthe tire is followed by damages to the wheel, since it now touches theground directly. In addition to the material damages mentioned above,the consequence of this all is the loss of directional control over thevehicle, which may lead to an accident.

In the case of the wheel of the present invention, the support ring 5props the airless tire 4, causing its side shoulders 42 to present areduced folding as compared with what would happen if a conventionalwheel were used. The inner surface of the tire 4 touches the outersurface of the ring 5 and the result is that it becomes possible todrive the vehicle with total control, without any risk of unexpectedloss of control.

Optionally, one can go on driving and only change the tire 4 at a safeplace, or else go directly to a tire-fixing workshop, since the presentinvention enables the vehicle to run normally with the empty tire. Oneshould only take care not to drive at high speeds, in order to avoidexcessive heating of the airless tire 4.

A preferred embodiment having been described, it should be understoodthat the scope of the present invention embraces other possiblevariations, being limited only by the contents of the accompanyingclaims, which include the possible equivalents.

1. A vehicle wheel comprising a substantially circular rim for fixedlyreceiving an inflatable tire, and at least one support ring disposedsubstantially concentric with the rim and engaged therewith so as to bean integral part thereof, the support ring defining a bore for receivinga tire-inflating control valve.
 2. A wheel according to claim 1, whereinan outer surface of the support ring defines a maximum outer diameter ofthe wheel.
 3. A wheel according to claim 2, wherein the maximum outerdiameter defined by the outer surface of the support ring is greaterthan a diameter defined by an end portion of the rim.
 4. A wheelaccording to claim 1, wherein the rim has a substantially invertedM-shaped cross-section.
 5. A wheel according to claim 1, wherein the rimhas a substantially Ω(Omega)-shaped cross-section.
 6. A wheel accordingto claim 1, wherein the rim is manufactured from laminated steel.
 7. Awheel according to claim 1, wherein the wheel is manufactured from atleast one of a light metal alloy and carbon steel.
 8. A wheel accordingto claim 1, wherein the wheel comprises more than one support ring.
 9. Asubstantially circular rim for a wheel, the rim being configured tofixedly receive an inflatable tire and comprising at least one supportring disposed substantially concentric with the rim and engagedtherewith so as to be an integral part thereof, the support ringdefining a bore for receiving a tire-inflating control valve.
 10. A rimaccording to claim 9, wherein an outer surface of the support ringdefines a maximum outer diameter of the rim.
 11. A rim according toclaim 10, wherein the maximum outer diameter defined by the outersurface of the support ring is greater than a diameter defined by an endportion of the rim.
 12. A rim according to claim 9, wherein the rim hasa substantially inverted M-shaped cross-section.
 13. A rim according toclaim 9, wherein the rim has a substantially Ω(Omega)-shapedcross-section.
 14. A rim according to claim 9, wherein the rim ismanufactured from laminated steel.